


More than Ready

by Skye_Maxwell



Series: Ready to Fall [3]
Category: Persona 3, Persona Series
Genre: Beef Bowl Shop is the place for you, Epilogue, Fluff, Friendship, Humor, Kissing, M/M, Romance, Sequel, Where have you been
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2019-09-17
Updated: 2019-09-17
Packaged: 2020-10-20 12:09:23
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 2
Words: 4,128
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/20675159
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Skye_Maxwell/pseuds/Skye_Maxwell
Summary: "Akihiko had recently taken to slowing down to appreciate beautiful things, and it certainly had changed the pace of his life."





	1. Chapter 1

**Author's Note:**

> For my friend, happy birthday! About 3 years ago I was deep in the throes of playing P3 FES on the PS2 way after it came out, staying up all night and making fusion charts in a notebook and trying to remember what nonsensical words like bufu and pulinpa meant and frequently referring back to the pamphlet that came with the game. It is weird now to think how startlingly different my life would be if I had never gotten into Persona... so thanks for insisting on me playing it! ^_^ Your reward is fics of your (our) Persona ships, lol. <3
> 
> This is an epilogue-ish sequel-like thing to the main story in this series called "Ready to Fall," so if you haven't already, definitely read that first!

Akihiko stood waiting outside the school, hands in his coat pockets and face upturned. There was a distinct chill in the air, but the waning rays of the setting sun also provided a welcome bit of warmth against Akihiko’s cheeks. It had rained lightly that afternoon, but all of the storm clouds had cleared while he had been watching Minato’s kendo match. Still, the crisp smell of the rain lingered, and something about it filled Akihiko’s lungs in a different way than normal. Akihiko had recently taken to slowing down to appreciate beautiful things, and it certainly had changed the pace of his life. 

Kendo, Akihiko had decided, was a sport much more suited to Minato than himself. While it did require some skills similar to those required in boxing, it required less brute force and more… _ finesse_. Minato had that in spades. Plus, Akihiko could never pull off that traditional kendo uniform the way Minato could…

“Hey.”

Minato’s voice was quiet as usual, but it still made Akihiko jump. 

“Oh, hey,” Akihiko replied, shaking it off and smiling at Minato, who had changed back into his school uniform. He looked around quickly to make sure they were alone, and then he reached up to smooth out Minato’s damp, ruffled hair. “You looked really good out there today.”

Minato asked smugly, “In what way?”

Akihiko had obviously meant the statement from an athletic perspective, but he couldn’t pretend that he couldn’t have meant it the other way, since he had literally just been thinking about how good Minato looked in his kendo uniform…

Akihiko looked to the sky and thought about it for a moment. “In all of the ways,” Akihiko decided, glad that he was able to open up to Minato little by little. 

His gaze was forced back downwards, however, when Minato grabbed the back of his neck with one hand and pulled him into a fervent kiss. 

Their kisses had been few and far between so far and never in public, Akihiko noted as he leaned in to kiss Minato back. Perhaps Minato had also been impatiently waiting for their next moment alone? In any case, the sudden, vigorous nature of Minato’s affection gave Akihiko quite the rush. 

After Minato pulled away, Akihiko breathed, “What was that for?”

“It was my reward,” Minato said happily. 

“For what?”

“For doing well today!” 

Minato’s tone was much lighter than usual, and Akihiko wondered if it was because he’d just had such a good workout. 

“Does that mean I don’t have to reward you by paying for your beef bowl?”

Minato laughed. “Definitely not.”

As they made their way from school to Iwatodai Station, the two of them were content to converse about subjects like kendo and classes and Koromaru’s increasingly bad habit of staying up late to binge-watch reruns of Phoenix Ranger Featherman R. 

When they were approaching the strip mall, a voice behind them shouted, “Hey, wait up!” 

Junpei’s voice cut through all the other noises around them, and the boys stopped and waited for him to jog up to them.

“Where are you guys headed?” Junpei asked energetically. 

“Beef bowl,” Minato said, nodding in the direction of the shop. 

“Dude, beef bowl sounds great right now!”

“You can’t come,” Minato said bluntly, but there was no malice in his voice. 

Junpei blinked, but then a weird smirk appeared on his face. “Ohhh, I get it. You two are on a date right now, aren’t you?”

He was looking at Akihiko in particular, but Akihiko truly didn’t know how to answer. 

_ Was _ it a date? Was any instance of the two of them making plans to hang out considered a date now? 

“Yes, we are,” Minato answered for him. 

Junpei laughed easily, stretching his arms behind his head. “All right, all right. Sorry, guess I’m still not used to it. But hey, next time you go for beef bowl, invite your best pal Junpei, okay? It’ll be on me. I do owe you for all those toothbrushes, after all.”

“Tomorrow.”

Junpei laughed again. “Tomorrow? Even though you’re going to eat beef bowl today?”

“Every day is a good day for beef bowl,” Minato said with a nod. “Tomorrow is an especially good day for free beef bowl.”

“So that why you’re so eager, huh? Because I’m paying? Sheesh, you should be more excited to hang out with me!”

“Free food is important. You are an added bonus.”

“If I didn’t know better, I’d think you didn’t like me at all!” Junpei said, but the smile he was wearing was a bashful one.

“But you know better.”

“Heh, yeah I do. All right, I’ll see you tomorrow!” Junpei said, giving Minato a fist bump. “Have fun on your _ date,” _he said a little too closely to Akihiko’s ear as he started to walk away.

Watching Junpei’s back as he retreated, Akihiko commented, “He’s been cooler about this than I expected. He’s still obnoxious, but I definitely thought he’d be way more obnoxious.”

“Of course he’s cool with us,” Minato said. “He _ is _ my best pal, after all.”

While Minato was definitely using the phrase ‘best pal’ jokingly, he was certainly serious about the sentiment behind the statement. 

Akihiko admired how far and wide Minato’s feelings reached, especially when he seemed so impassive on the outside. From Junpei and the rest of SEES to the elderly couple who ran the used bookstore to the sick boy he met with every Sunday at the shrine, Minato was always investing in people he cared about. It was no wonder that he had endeared himself to so many different people since transferring to Gekkoukan. 

“Having a nice thought there?” Minato asked, staring up at Akihiko curiously. 

“Oh, um, yeah.”

“Was it about me?” 

Akihiko sighed. “Yes.”

The way Minato could teeter between being completely unselfish and being completely narcissistic was the true wonder. 

Minato said, “Good. I wouldn’t want you to have that look on your face while thinking about someone else. But I’m right here, and I’m hungry, so let’s go.”

Akihiko matched Minato’s stride, realizing that his new reality was a very vulnerable place. Minato knew exactly how Akihiko felt about him (as he had made it extremely clear in word and action), plus he was awfully perceptive, so there wasn’t a lot of room for Akihiko to hide anything—not that he particularly wanted to. It was just different from how things had been for Akihiko for a long time. 

“Well, since we’re apparently on a date, what do you want to do after dinner?”

Minato looked like he was thinking extremely hard about his answer, and then he declared, “Digest.”

Akihiko chuckled, lightly elbowing Minato. “And then?”

Minato hummed thoughtfully, but then he retrieved his wallet out of his back pocket and pulled out a folded piece of paper that Akihiko was very familiar with. 

“You carry that around with you?” Akihiko asked, noticing that the paper looked a lot more worn than the last time he had seen it. “That’s… embarrassing.”

“Of course I do. I love it. It’s my favorite thing.”

Lately Akihiko had really been trying to control the frequency and severity of his blushing, but when it came to Minato and the heart-stopping things he said so simply, it truly felt like a lost cause. 

After unfolding and skimming the paper, Minato said, “We’ve already got kendo and beef bowl covered, so we could… kick the asses of every shadow in Tartarus? Or… take Koromaru on a long, aimless walk?”

Akihiko said hastily, “That one. The walk. Now please put that away.”

Minato obliged and tucked the paper carefully back into his wallet, saying, “Let’s make another list. A longer one.”

“What kind of list?” 

“A list of things to do together… and foods to eat together,” Minato tacked on with importance.

“Yeah, we can do that,” Akihiko agreed, but then he was overwhelmed by the thought of trying to capture on paper everything he wanted to experience with Minato by his side. Not that they had to be together every moment—Akihiko would never want to become completely dependent on anyone—but he couldn’t think of anything in the future he imagined for himself that wouldn’t be made better by Minato’s presence. 

Akihiko realized with a start that his thoughts sounded way too permanent—the kind of thoughts that someone would have before deciding on a marriage proposal. 

_ Marriage. _

Akihiko nearly died on the spot. Mere minutes ago, he hadn’t even known that this was a date, and now his deranged brain had the _ audacity _ to leap toward such crazy impossibilities? 

Then again… _ was _ it impossible?

At least if he died of shame right now, he would meet his sad fate in front of the beef bowl shop, one of his favorite places on earth. 

“What’s wrong?” Minato asked.

“I can’t tell you,” Akihiko said anxiously, immediately realizing that excuse wasn’t going to fly with Minato. 

“You can if you want to. I’ll listen to anything you have to say.”

Why did he have to sound so _ understanding?_

“It’s just, the thought of marriage crossed my mind, and I panicked. Ugh, _ please _ forget I said that.”

Minato said seriously, “Nope. Not forgetting. Don’t want to.” He subtly took hold of Akihiko’s hand and gave it a single squeeze before releasing it again. With less gravity, he added, “It’s natural to think of the future when you’re with someone. Especially if things are going well. And they are. So don’t worry about it.”

In that moment, all Akihiko could think was that he would not mind having Minato’s reassuring words and touch and presence with him for the rest of his life. 

He was so screwed. 

Minato asked, “Is that why you’ve been spacing out so much today? Because you want to marry me?”

“N-no!”

“Are you stuttering because you want to marry me?”

“Cut that out!”

“Let’s have a fall wedding.” 

“Minato!”

“You… would be a really great husband.”

_ Husband?! _

“Seriously?” Akihiko grunted, not sure how much of this he could take. “Don’t mess with me like that.”

“Like what?”

“You _ know_, Minato.”

“You were honest with me, so I was just trying to be honest with you,” Minato said innocuously. “Is that not what you want?”

“Of course I want you to be honest with me.”

Minato said suddenly, “I want to kiss you.” 

Looking around at all the people walking by them, Akihiko said, “M-maybe later, okay?”

Minato tugged on the lapel of Akihiko’s coat, directing his attention back to him. 

“Promise?”

Akihiko recoiled at the suggestion. They had never made _ plans _ to kiss each other before. 

Minato added, “Please?”

Akihiko gave him the sternest look he could muster. “I’ll promise if you stop teasing me so hard.”

“Okay,” Minato agreed too-quickly. 

“So you admit to it?!”

“Heh, yeah,” Minato said happily.

Seeing Minato’s expression, Akihiko couldn’t even pretend to stay annoyed. Plus, once he thought back over his plans, he was about to have a great evening. He was going to have beef bowl, go on a long walk with his favorite dog/wingman, and then kiss Minato. 

He would have to start making plans like this more often.  



	2. Chapter 2

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> This was originally all one big chapter, but I had to split it up for my sanity, haha.

As soon as Akihiko and Minato walked in the front door of the dorm, it felt like the air was sucked out of the room. Koromaru, who was sitting in front of the TV, whipped his head around and locked eyes with Akihiko. They stared each other down with serious expressions, and Minato whispered, “All-Out Attack.”

In one explosive movement, Akihiko threw his arms out wide and Koromaru bolted toward him like a good boy on a mission. 

A moment later, Akihiko was laughing with Koromaru in his arms, and then Koromaru was peeking over Akihiko’s shoulder to lunge tongue-first at Minato’s face. 

Minato deftly dodged the slobber attack and then grabbed Koromaru’s face with both hands.

Looking Koromaru in the eyes, Minato asked, “Do you want to be our ring bearer?”

Koromaru barked twice right next to Akihiko’s ear, and then he licked the side of Minato’s face that wasn’t obscured by his hair.

Ears ringing, Akihiko exclaimed, “Ring bearer?!” 

“Ring bearer?” Mitsuru asked, descending the stairs and walking toward her friends. “I take it things are going well with you two, then?”

Akihiko buried his face in Koromaru’s fur. “Mitsuru, not you too…”

Mitsuru asked, “Am I also invited to bear witness to this union?” 

Minato nodded. “Wanna be my maid of honor?”

“Hey!” Akihiko protested. “If she’s going to be someone’s maid of honor, she’s going to be mine! You can pick Aigis or Yukari or Fuuka.”

Minato and Mitsuru looked at each other and snickered, and then it dawned on Akihiko. 

“Wait, men aren’t supposed to have a maid of honor. And dogs aren’t supposed to be ring bearers! This is  _ not _ how a wedding works… Wait, we’re not even planning a wedding! Both of you, stop laughing!”

“Your face is as red as my hair, Akihiko,” Mitsuru mused. 

“Speaking of your hair, it looks cute,” Minato told Mitsuru. “Your outfit too.”

While he willed his stupid red face to calm down, Akihiko did a double-take of Mitsuru, not having noticed any difference at first. Her hair was pulled into a high ponytail, and her outfit and makeup were a bit flashier than usual. 

Akihiko blurted out, “Oh, you do look cute.” 

“Thank you,” Mitsuru said, looking amused. “After our most recent success in Tartarus, I believe we are due for some well-deserved time off, so the other girls and I decided to spend the evening out.”

“Good,” Minato said. “You do deserve it.”

“As do you,” Mitsuru replied. “So… where have you two been?”

“Beef bowl.” 

Akihiko added, “And this guy’s kendo match. It was great; you should have seen it!”

Mitsuru shook her head and crossed her arms. “I’d rather not. I don’t enjoy seeing my friends get stabbed, or punched in the face.”

“Wait…” Akihiko said uncertainly. “Is that why you’ve only ever been to one of my matches?” 

Mitsuru nodded. “While I do not doubt your abilities as a boxer, watching you in the ring with someone who means to cause you harm is very… nerve-wracking.”

“Huh, and here I was thinking you never came back because you thought it was a boring waste of time.”

“I never said anything of the sort. It wasn’t boring at all; that was the problem.”

Minato asked, “So you were worried about him?”

“I’ve been worried about him since the day I met him. He’s a troubling individual,” Mitsuru said matter-of-factly. 

Minato shot Akihiko a smirk, but then Mitsuru added, “The same goes for you, Minato. Honestly, it’s a relief now, knowing that you two are looking out for each other.”

Minato gave Mitsuru a thumbs-up. “I’ve got him.”

“And I’ve got him too…” Mitsuru said, reaching up to delicately touch the side of Akihiko’s face. “…if he ever needs a maid of honor.”

Akihiko flinched away from Mitsuru’s touch and turned on his heel, making a silent beeline for the stairs. He grimaced when he heard laughter and the distinct smacking sound of a high-five behind him. 

Minato and Koromaru then jogged after Akihiko, flanking him on either side. 

“The wedding party is really coming together,” Minato said, causing Akihiko to trip over a stair. 

“If you don’t stop that, we’re definitely not getting married ever!”

Minato looked genuinely affronted. “Are you retracting your proposal?”

“No, because I didn’t propose to you in the first place!”

“Uh-oh, trouble in paradise?” Yukari asked with a smirk, coming down the stairs with Fuuka and Aigis behind her. 

“Trouble?” Aigis asked seriously, swiftly raising one of her weaponized arms. 

“No, Aigis, no trouble here,” Fuuka said, pushing her arm down. 

Yukari asked, “What was that I heard about a proposal?” 

Minato replied, “Akihiko wants to marry me. Would you all like to be my maids of honor?”

“You’re getting married?!” Fuuka squeaked. 

Akihiko threw his hands up in the air in defeat. “Yeah, we’re getting married. Next fall. Bring a coat.”

Yukari laughed, but Fuuka just stared in confusion, not seeming to pick up on Akihiko’s sarcasm. 

Aigis asked, “If we are maids of honor, will we have to wear maid outfits like the one in the back of Yukari-san’s closet?”

“Hey! Can it, Aigis!” Yukari yelled, blushing. 

“Can what?” Aigis asked. “Your maid outfit? It will be hard to fit all those layers of lace into a single can—”

“Stop talking! Please!” Yukari practically begged. Apparently no longer in the mood to tease Akihiko about the wedding thing, she told the boys, “Ugh, we’re going out with Mitsuru, so don’t wait up for us.” 

“Would you like to come?” Aigis asked, looking hopefully at Minato. 

“Aigis! It’s a  _ girls’ _ night out,” Yukari said, sounding like this wasn’t the first time she’d had to explain this. “That means no boys allowed.”

Aigis started to protest, “But—”

Shaking her head, Yukari said, “We know you want to protect him 24/7, but he can take care of himself. Plus, he’s got Akihiko, right?” she asked, looking expectantly to her senpai.

“Right,” Akihiko confirmed, sharing a small smile with Yukari. 

“All right, ladies, let’s go get Mitsuru and get out of here,” Yukari directed. “Bye, boys!” 

Looking at Minato, Aigis tried again, “But—”

Fuuka took Aigis’ hand and started to pull her forward, saying, “Let them have some time to themselves, Aigis; I think they have some wedding planning to do.” 

“Yeah, I really need to call the caterer,” Akihiko said, beyond embarrassment at this point. “And the florist. And Junpei, so we can ask him to be our flower girl. So if you’ll excuse us…”

The two groups stepped out of each other’s way, an air of amusement hanging over them as they passed each other on the staircase. 

Looking over his shoulder, Minato said to the girls with a rare fond smile, “You all look very cute. Have fun.”

Fuuka and Yukari were left blushing while Aigis, who was wearing one of Fuuka’s flowy dresses, said cheerfully, “Thank you! You are cute too! And you as well, Akihiko-san.”

“Thanks,” Minato said, and then he elbowed Akihiko in the side.    


“Huh? Oh, thanks, Aigis.”

With that, they parted ways, and Akihiko couldn’t help but feel a little paranoid when he heard the girls giggling away about who-knows-what. He turned to Minato to give him a disappointed look for breaking his promise to stop teasing him so much, but Minato wasn’t paying attention.

“I’m really happy,” Minato said, and Akihiko’s previous train of thought came grinding to a halt. “The girls deserve to have fun, and I’m glad they’re all going together.”

“Me too,” Akihiko agreed. “They even got Mitsuru to go with them. That’s great!” 

“You really care about her, huh?” Minato asked, peering up at Akihiko through his bangs. 

“Well, yeah. It’s a lot easier for me to be happy if I know she’s happy. I guess you could say she’s my… best pal.” 

Minato chuckled at the reference, and even Koromaru seemed amused as they ascended the stairs. 

After Minato and Akihiko changed into more comfortable walking clothes and spoiled Koromaru with a bunch of treats, they set off on their meandering walk with no particular destination. 

Koromaru seemed very happy to be out with two of his favorite people (who were also very happy), and he trotted alongside them, taking the occasional pause to sniff something particularly interesting or get pets from the strangers they encountered along the way. 

For a long while, Minato and Akihiko alternated mostly between casual conversation and companionable silence (with a few bouts of teasing thrown in), and all of it felt natural, and pleasant. At some point they ended up sitting down on a bench to take a break, sitting a bit closer together than they normally would if it was light out. Koromaru followed suit and curled up at their feet, evidently needing a break too. 

They sat quietly for a while—Akihiko with his arms crossed, looking up at the cloudy night sky, and Minato, hands in his pockets, people-watching—until Minato spoke up, saying, “I wish I had more time with you.”

“Hm? But we’re together right now.”

“I mean more time alone with you,” Minato said, vaguely nodding toward the sidewalk where a handful of people were still out and about. 

Before Akihiko could reply, there was a distinct shift in the atmosphere—everything went still, the sky turned an eerie green, and the people who Minato had been watching turned to coffins; the Dark Hour had set in.

“It’s midnight already?” Akihiko asked. “You sure do have good timing.”

“How so?” Minato asked, tilting his head. 

“We’ll definitely be alone for the next hour. Not counting Koro here,” Akihiko pointed out, looking to the pooped pup on the ground who was completely unfazed by the onset of the Dark Hour. 

“Maybe this was my plan all along.”

Doubting that, Akihiko asked, “Was it?”

“No. But I’m not mad about it,” Minato said, removing one hand from his pocket and taking Akihiko’s hand. 

Akihiko’s heart promptly set to pounding in anticipation of their long-awaited kiss, and they both leaned toward each other, their lips meeting in the middle. 

“WOOF!” Koromaru barked in their faces, startling them apart. 

He had jumped up with his front paws on the bench seat, tongue hanging sideways out of his mouth as he looked eagerly between Akihiko’s and Minato’s amused faces. 

_ “Now _ you’re awake?” Minato said, reaching to scratch under Koromaru’s chin. 

Koromaru licked Minato’s cheek in response. 

“We should probably take him back to the dorm for food and water,” Akihiko said, petting the top of Koromaru’s head right in the spot that always made Koromaru go squinty-eyed with contentment. 

Minato nodded somewhat reluctantly, but then he looked at Akihiko hopefully and said, “And then rooftop?” 

Akihiko replied, “It  _ would _ be nice to get a little farther away from these coffins…” 

“Great, let’s go,” Minato said, leaping off the bench and beckoning Koromaru to follow. 

“Hey! Wait up!” Akihiko laughed, catching up to them and grabbing Minato’s hand. “We can walk like this, right? Since no one’s looking anyway?” 

Minato slowed down significantly. 

“Yes. I’d like that.”

“Good,” Akihiko said, leaning in for another kiss—a kiss that he deliberately took slow so he could fully appreciate the beauty of it. 

Koromaru howled accordingly—a long, exaggerated noise that had both boys chuckling as they pulled apart and pressed their foreheads together. 

Minato tilted his head for another kiss, which was immediately interrupted by a sharp bark from Koromaru, who was now running in circles around them. 

“Okay, okay, we’re going,” Akihiko acquiesced, tugging sharply on Minato’s hand to wake him up and get that sleepy, lovestruck look out of his eyes (temporarily, of course). 

As they walked hand in hand back to the dorm, they brainstormed ideas for their new list of things to do together and came up with a few good ones: teach Minato to box and then have a real bout, visit the used bookstore and introduce Akihiko to Bunkichi and Mitsuko, convince Mitsuru to let them try riding her motorcycle, kiss during a thunderstorm again… 

Eventually their list started following the pattern of the seasons. 

Akihiko suggested jokingly, “In the winter, we can hook Koromaru up to a little sled and have him pull us through the snow.” 

Minato nodded as if he was completely serious about doing just that, and then he suggested, “In the spring, let’s go to a petting zoo.”

“You like petting zoos?”

“I love petting zoos.”

“Then I guess that means we’re going to a petting zoo in the spring,” Akihiko decided, finding this development quite endearing and imagining all the animals in the petting zoo flocking toward Minato and vying for his attention. 

“Your turn,” Minato said. “What should we do in the summer?” 

“I’d like to go to the beach again. But I would appreciate a distinct lack of anything resembling ‘babe hunting.’ That was a nightmare.” 

“Well, I guess that just leaves getting married in the fall,” Minato said conclusively. 

“Heh, you’re really not letting that go, are you…” Akihiko said. “Well, we’ll see.” 

“We will?” Minato asked, looking surprised. 

“You were so confident about it this whole time!” Akihiko laughed. “Let’s just focus on the rest of that list first, okay?”

“Okay,” Minato agreed. “I’m looking forward to it.” 

“Me too,” Akihiko said, ready to start chipping away at their new list and ready to spend some time with Minato on the rooftop and ready to fall even more in love with the boy beside him. “I’m ready, for all of it. More than ready.”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I believe I have _one more_ story left in me for this series, but I'm not sure when I'll get around to it since I have a bunch of other writing projects going on. If you'd like to be notified when I do eventually post it, subscribe to either me or the "Ready to Fall" series itself rather than just this story. Thanks for reading! \o/


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